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MESS Project

An Advanced Multi-Disciplinary Facility for Measurement and Experimentation

in the Social Sciences

Marcel Das

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2005: Innovation platform Investment in Large-Scale Research Facilities

42 proposals, adding up to 1.5 billion Euros

MESS Project: one of five projects which received funding

A brief history...

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Online panel of 5,000 households 8,000 individuals (>= 16 years)

Questionnaires each month, 30 min.

Incentive 15 euro an hour (average)

For scientific use, at no cost

Core element MESS project: LISS panel

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Online interviews as method, but:

Probability sample drawn from address sampling frame of Statistics Netherlands

Includes households without Internet access (less than 15%): CentERdata provides equipment

Contacted by letter, telephone or visit

LISS panel

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Very small and silent

Only the most frequently used functions

Automatic maintenance, safety

Simple operation and readable screens

Installation and support

simPC

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Non-response patternsSimilar to those of other leading

scientific panels

Superior to commercial access and volunteer panels:

- no coverage problems

- no selfselection

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Attention for difficult groups

Correction by oversampling in refreshment of 2009 (with Statistics Netherlands)

New immigrant panel (with Cross-cultural Psychology, Tilburg University and Statistics Netherlands)

Get questionnaires every month

Know: first Monday of the month

Get also email invitation

Can complete questionnaire at any

time during the month

Respondents LISS panel:

Response rates: per day

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Management of the LISS panel

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Panel management system (1)• Online system developed by CentERdata

• Easy overview of basic data (e.g. composition household)

• Overview of all communication– electronic version of the exact letters that

were sent– sent and received e-mail messages– SMS messages– availability of panel members (holiday,

business trips, hospital stays, etc.)

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Panel management system (2)

• Issue tracking system (problems)

• Wizards to guide panel management to update information about the household

• Tracking of devices (SimPC)

• Statistics module (response, etc.)

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Panel management system (3)

• Automated selection processes– via templates (standard selections)– scheduling to open questionnaires, to

send invitations via e-mail or SMS– possibility for entering manual selections

• Overview and management of incentive payments

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Use of the LISS panel

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Experimental modules

Who can use the LISS panel:every researcher who wants to collect data for scientific, policy or societal relevant research

Scientific research: Academic researchers, irrespective of nationality, can use the LISS panel at no cost

Proposals can be submitted throughout the year

Use of a subsample

Effects of illness babies in first year on labour participation parents:

Pregnant women, follow 3 years!

Effects of the economic crisis on household portfolio choice:

Panel members who own stocks

Random subsample or experimental groups: different conditions

Biomarker data collection:

Blood cholesterol levels Diurnal salivary cortisol Waist circumference Internet weighting scale

Video instruction, specially developed for all three tests

Future: Accelerometers, blood pressure meters

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Available data Who can use the LISS data:every researcher who wants to use data for scientific, policy or societal relevant research

Use of data is free of charge (unless data are used for research funded by means of external sources)

Available data: longitudinal core study proposed studies

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Longitudinal core study

Household and family Economic situation and housing Work and schooling Social integration and leisure Health Personality Religion and ethnicity Politics and values

LISS data: archive and DDI Disseminated through website / data

archive: http://www.lissdata.nl

Database is based on DDI 3: one of the first implementations of version 3(DDI = Data Documentation Initiative,International XML-based standard for data documentation)

LISS data: complex and extensive

October 2011: more than 440 registered users

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Extensive data Example: “Do you know which panel

members are vegetarian?” Asked somewhere, but in which study?

Example: “Did you ever measure political efficacy?”

Asked sometime, but when exactly?

Example: “Can I estimate the housing expenditure of impulsive persons?”

Which items measured impulsiveness?

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DDI 3 & LISS website:

Search entry from Concept, Variable, Question, Topic, and Study

Can handle longitudinal data (waves)

Exchangeable with data archives

Flexibility for future applications (Example: iPod version)

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Current projects Special groups: e.g. immigrants (new

panel)

Biomarkers: test new instruments for measurement

Links with administrative data (Statistics Netherlands): substantial expansion of research opportunities

Time use project: smartphones

International collaboration

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Recruitment procedure + Pilot experiment

Representativity

Panel maintenance:

Communication and feedback

Sleeper study

Non-Internet households

Questasy

Biomarkers

Immigrant panel

Extra information on:

www.lissdata.nl